The fate of Napster, the hugely popular online song-swapping service, could be decided on Monday when a US federal appeals court issues its long awaited ruling on whether or not to slap an injunction on it that could effectively shut it down.
The decision from a three-judge panel of the Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco comes more than four months after an October 2nd hearing on the landmark copyright infringement case in which the recording industry asked that Napster be ordered to stop enabling users to swap songs for free.
At the hearing, Napster squared off against the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which requested the court lift a stay on an injunction ordered last July against the service, which has attracted over 50 million users.
"We're confident that the 9th Circuit understands the severity of our claim and will uphold the decision of the U.S. Federal Court," said Ms Hilary Rosen, president and chief executive officer of the RIAA in a statement yesterday.
The court decision is expected around 1800 GMT on Monday.
The big music companies claim that Napster is a haven for piracy and they want an injunction to stop it from operating pending a final decision in their landmark copyright lawsuit.
Reuters